Careful What You Wish For
by Dolphingirl32173
Summary: There's a reason they say be careful what you wish for. Elena finds that out the hard way when a wish she makes when blowing out the candles on her eighteenth birthday cake suddenly transports her 145 years into the past. What happens when she meets newborn Damon and Stefan? Will she be able to return to her own time and, if so, will her actions in the past affect the present? DE
1. The Wish

Careful What You Wish For  
DG32173

Sarah: an idea that would not stop bugging me until I got it down. I know how much some of you guys like time travel fanfics. Here's another one for the stack.

_**CREDIT**_  
Credit goes to _crzykittyfangirl_ for helping me make my stories the best they can be. Thanks so much for your help.

_**DISCLAIMER**_  
I don't even own the theme as there are plenty of time travel fanfics in the TVD archives. I only own this story as it is written and anything I claim before the chapter it appears in. If a reviewer or my beta inspires me to write it, I will put a credit section like the above giving credit for who inspired the idea. Otherwise, it's safe to say it's owned by someone else.

_**WARNINGS**_  
ALTERNATE UNIVERSE! Alters from the show in Season 3, Episode 1. The majority of this fanfic takes place 145 years before the start of Season 3, starting just a few months after Damon and Stefan first become vampires. Be warned that Elena will be spending a _very_ long time in the past compared to most time travel fanfics I've come across. I plan on this story being _mostly_ told from Elena's viewpoint though there will be snippets of past Damon's view on things. Be aware that this is rated M for a reason: there will be the usual smut you guys have come to expect from me. But there will also be dark themes as Ripper Stefan is still being trained for the first time by Lexi when the story first goes to the past. These are the warnings. Don't say you didn't know because they are right here. Starts with Elena.

_**SUMMARY**_  
There's a reason they say be careful what you wish for. Elena finds that out the hard way when a wish she makes when blowing out the candles on her eighteenth birthday cake suddenly transports her 145 years into the past. What happens when she meets newborn Damon and Stefan? Will she be able to return to her own time and, if so, will her actions in the past affect the present? _**Damon/Elena**_

* * *

Chapter 1  
The Wish

It's my eighteenth birthday. The hunt for Stefan is in full swing and I just know I'm being excluded for some reason. Caroline came up with the idea of throwing me a birthday party at the boarding house to try and take _everyone's_ minds off of everything that's going on right now. Just this morning, when I came to pass a note to Damon from Sheriff Forbes, he had 'gifted' me with an eyeful of his body covered only in suds as he had just gotten out of the tub to come greet me when I walked into the boarding house without a knock, as I'm prone to do these days. He teased me about my refusal to knock on a house I consider just as much my home as my own house.

Over the past few weeks, I have steadily grown closer and closer to giving in to my feelings for Damon. But I feel like there's one big secret he's still keeping from me, a secret about what Stefan's _really_ like on the human stuff. I feel that what I know about Stefan on human blood is only the very tip of the iceberg.

As it draws nearer to the time for me to blow out the candles on my birthday cake, I debate over just _what_ I should wish for. Every year I make a big wish when blowing out the candles on my cake and usually it somehow comes true. But even as Caroline pulls me in front of the cake and lights the candles, I still haven't decided on my wish. It seems as if she had invited our entire high school class to my party.

I make a snap decision on what I'll wish for. 'I wish I knew what Damon and Stefan were like a hundred and forty-five years ago,' I think as I blow out the candles.

Suddenly, it feels like I'm grabbed by a giant invisible hand and pulled backwards. I hear screams of shock and horror, Damon yelling my name, then it's as if my senses are cut off because everything goes black and silent for the longest time. Just as suddenly as the invisible hand had grabbed me, it releases me. My senses return in an instant as well. And what I see has me realizing that there's a damned good reason everyone says 'be careful what you wish for, you might just get it.' I feel like I haven't moved an inch but I'm standing in the middle of an old forest clearing. The air I'm breathing I can tell is _much_ purer than it should be, no hints of the various pollutions the air I'm accustomed to does.

And standing before me in the clearing, looking as startled as I feel, is Damon. Except instead of the designer clothes topped by a black leather jacket I'm so used to seeing him wear, he's wearing an outfit men would have worn in the middle of the nineteenth century! "Katherine?" he gasps.

"No," I say softly, realizing I had gotten my wish in a way I hadn't expected. "I'm Elena." Somehow, this scene feels familiar, as if those same words had been spoken from each of us in a time and place I can't recall.

This past Damon manages to gather his wits. "I'm Damon," he introduces himself.

"What is the date?" I ask him.

"June 28th, 1865," he replies.

It seems that newborn vampire Damon keeps track of dates much better than he does in my time. "I'm going to tell you something a little weird, Damon, but I swear it's the absolute truth," I start, deciding that if I'm going to ever get back to my own time, I'll need the help of this era's Damon. And to get his help, I need to tell him the truth.

He raises an eyebrow and I realize no matter how old he is, some things will always be the same. He will _always_ be able to say whole paragraphs with just a small shift in his expression. "You just appeared quite literally out of thin air," he says. "I'm sure nothing you can tell me is weirder than _that_ and the clothes you have on."

I look down to see I'm still in the t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers I was wearing when I blew out my birthday candles. Then I meet his eyes. "Yeah, well, what I have to say will make even all that seem normal," I say.

"Do tell," he invites.

* * *

Sarah: yeah, I know it's short. But I don't want to put Elena's story or Damon's reaction to it in this chapter. This chapter is mainly about Elena's wish and what happens when it comes true.


	2. Promise to Help

Careful What You Wish For  
DG32173

Sarah: here's Chapter 2 of _Careful What You Wish For._ In this chapter, Elena conscripts past Damon's help in getting her back to her time. But be warned, she won't be able to return for a good, long while. The chapter starts with Elena but there might be snippets of Damon's perspective. Also, decided to skip the whole drawn out explanation on Elena's part.

_**REVIEW REPLIES**_

_Leann Nickerson:_ or _will_ she see Ripper Stefan? **(Laughs)** You'll have to find out this chapter what happens. Hope you enjoy.

Catriona: Elena will inevitably meet past Lexi and Stefan. But as you'll see this chapter, some things will just have to wait.

_TVD-DELENA1786:_ here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoy.

_amazing Aisha:_ yeah, time travel fics with Delena are among my favorites. Here's the next chapter.

_Red Reaper88:_ thanks. Here's more.

* * *

Chapter 2  
Promise to Help

"So, let me see if I got this correct," Damon says, crossing his arms. "To summarize what you told me, you're actually from a hundred and forty-five _years_ in the future. You know both Stefan and I in your time. A series of events you won't explain ended up with Stefan stuck in servitude to this vampire-werewolf hybrid you call Klaus because he sacrificed himself to save me from something. What was going on before you were sent to the past, you were at a birthday party being hosted at mine and Stefan's home in that time, blowing out the candles on your birthday cake after making a wish to know what we're like _now._ Somehow, just blowing out your candles caused your wish to come _true,_ sending you back in time to this field, which you said would be the site of the place Stefan and I call home in your time. And now you want my help getting you _back_ to your time. Did I miss anything?"

"That's a pretty good summary," I admit.

"Why should I believe what you're saying? You have to admit, it's a little farfetched," he says.

"I can prove how well I know you and Stefan," I say.

"Oh?" he asks, clearly inviting me to do so.

So I start listing all the random trivia I had discovered about them that dates back to this era. As I speak, Damon's eyes widen in shock at _just_ how well I know him and his brother. When I finish, I cross my arms and raise my eyebrow at him. "Is that proof enough?" I ask simply.

He rakes a hand through his hair while taking a ragged breath. "You really _are_ from the future," he admits.

I sigh in relief. "So, will you help me return to my time?" I ask.

He studies me for a long time in silence. I let him have the time he needs to make his decision. Finally he nods. "Neither I nor Stefan would have told those things to just _anyone,"_ he finally admits.

"I learned _all_ of it from you," I interrupt. "In my time, Stefan is a compulsive liar and keeps secrets from people who should be important to him unless they verbally rip into him to get to the truth."

He raises an eyebrow at that and I can tell that he's filing away that information for future use. "I'll rephrase that: _I_ would never tell that much about our lives to just _anyone,"_ he says. "So you had to have become a very important person in my life for me to be willing to share such things. I get the feeling you won't tell me just _what_ you and I are to each other in the future, but I know that if you're important enough for me to tell those details to, then my future self will obviously be desperate to have you back. So I promise to help you find a way back to your own time."

"Thank you," I say softly. Some instinct deep within me tells me that whatever happens in now will drastically affect the future. That even the mere granting of my wish has altered both the past and the present irrevocably. I wonder just how much has changed already just in meeting Damon mere months after his transition into vampirism.

He sighs. "I was just about to take my horse and leave Mystic Falls behind for a while," he says, motioning to the beautiful black stallion with a white star on his forehead tied to a tree nearby. "Do you ride?" he asks.

I nod, so grateful that Damon himself had insisted on teaching me in the weeks between Stefan leaving and my birthday in the future. "I'm still a beginner, having only started a few weeks before I was transported back in time," I admit. "But I can keep my seat on a horse and I know all ways to signal them on what I want them to do."

Damon studies me a moment. "Black Star should be able to carry both of us back to the stables where the other horses are. You can pick out one of the others to ride yourself," he says. "We're also going to have to get you clothing from now so you don't stand out so much."

I nod. Damon mounts first and offers me a hand to help me up. I put one hand in his and grab the pommel with my other hand, using both to help me get into the beautiful stallion's saddle. Once we get back to the stables, I am instantly, almost _instinctively_ drawn to a beautiful white mare with a black mane and tail. I hold out my hand for her to sniff.

"Careful, Shadow Light only likes me," Damon starts to say but stops when the mare butts my hand with her nose after just one sniff, clearly falling as in love with me as I am with her. "She never even liked _Katherine,"_ he protests.

I scratch Shadow Light's nose. "You just have good taste, that's all," I murmur to the horse. She whickers her agreement. Damon gives me a sharp look, clearly not liking my diss of his sire. I can't tell him the truth about Katherine. Not yet, at least. Maybe when this past version of Damon gets to know me better, if we have the opportunity, I'll warn him about his sire's true ways. But _this_ Damon has only just met me. He's only letting me travel with him because I proved that in my time, we are _extremely_ close. In fact, in my time, he's deeply in love with me and I was rapidly drawing closer to admitting out loud that my feelings for him ran just as deep. But this Damon is only tolerating me right now because of what my knowledge of him and Stefan proved about our future relationship.

While I further bond with Shadow Light, Damon fetches her saddle and bridle from the tack room. Before he even has a chance to do the chivalrous thing and put the mare's tack on for me, I grab it out of his hands and proceed to demonstrate that this is one thing his future self had drilled into my skull until it came as naturally to me as it did to him.

Then I pull myself into the saddle, feeling proud when neither saddle nor bridle moves so much as a hair. Shadow Light lips at my sneaker affectionately. "Alright, where to now, Damon?" I ask him, making Shadow Light move up beside his stallion. He's the expert on this era, not me.

"Let's get out of Mystic Falls before my brother or Lexi realize I came back," he says, angling Black Star out of the barn.

Shadow Light falls into step next to the stallion without any coaxing on my part. I get the distinct feeling that is a representative of how my time will be spent here in the past: always matching my steps to Damon's as we try to find a way to return me to my time.

But somehow, I get the feeling that getting to know Damon at this time in his life, when he's just a newborn vampire and before any of the things that happen to him between now and when I first meet him that caused him to become the ass he was when I first met him, will shed even more light on the puzzle of just who the _real_ Damon Salvatore truly is. I might finally get prolonged exposure to the man I had seen glimpses of in my time, the man he was always quick to hide behind the monster when he realized I was seeing glimpses of his humanity peeking through.

**Damon**

Somehow I get the distinct feeling that this young human riding beside me is going to throw everything I thought I knew on its ear. As I lead her on a trail that will bypass the town, I wonder at this strange sensation coming from the vampire that took up roost within me when I was forced to finish my transition. It feels like my inner vampire _already_ knows what relationship I will have with her in her time and is willing to push all propriety out the window in a desperate attempt to make her _mine._ I don't understand these feelings I'm getting. Before she had appeared in that clearing, I had only one thought on my mind: find a way to pass the decades to come until the comet comes again so I can free Katherine from the tomb. Now it's like Katherine's not even part of the equation, not for my inner vampire at least.

But I also know that Elena is still keeping some things from me, things I can sense are of utmost importance. She said that in her time, we hadn't even known each other for a _year,_ and yet in that brief amount of time I had grown to trust her with things I thought I'd never tell _anyone._ What will our relationship be in her time? And why is my inner vampire so focused on her that I find myself thinking the term 'mate' when I think of her? So many questions, so few answers.

I just know that whatever our relationship _will_ be, my future self would be beyond desperate to have her back. That is evidenced by how much trust my future self had placed in her. That is why I agreed to help her find a way to return to her time. But perhaps I can prolong the inevitable so I can figure out _just_ what she had come to mean to me in the future. And maybe I can get her to trust me as I am _now_ with more of what she knows.

* * *

Sarah: and that's the short Chapter 2. It's nearly as short as Chapter 1 was, just a little over two pages longer. You can now see that past Damon _will_ help her, but in _his_ time. He was just as stubborn as a newborn as he is at nearly a century and a half as a vampire. He wants answers and he knows it will take time to get them. Review and tell me what you think.


	3. Different Times, Different Methods

Careful What You Wish For  
DG32173

Sarah: here's Chapter 3 of _Careful What You Wish For._ I'm hoping everyone who's reading this is enjoying it as much as I'm enjoying writing it. Anyways, here are the review replies and the chapter. Starts with Elena.

_**REVIEW REPLIES**_

_Leann Nickerson:_ I'm not saying whether or not past Stefan will make an appearance. If he does, it won't be for a long while. You'll learn in a couple future chapters I already have written out just how the future will be altered while Elena is still in the past. Glad you enjoyed the chapter so much. Here's the next one.

_amazing Aisha:_ yeah, most of the chapters I've completed so far are on the short side for this story. Past Damon won't want to lose her too soon even though he knows his future self is probably sick with worry.

_Red Reaper88:_ glad you enjoy how I'm portraying past Damon. As you'll see by the end of this chapter, he's fighting a losing battle with his heart and inner vampire over Elena right now. But it won't last long.

* * *

Chapter 3  
Different Times, Different Methods

I'm finding that I'm not a fan of the main method of travel available in 1865. It won't be for nearly another twenty-one _years_ that the first automobile will even be _patented._ Sure, I've fallen madly in love with Shadow Light, almost as much as I loved Damon in my time. But when you're not used to riding a horse for hours on end on a daily basis, well, it tends to leave you sore in rather uncomfortable places.

That first evening, when we finally stopped because it was either stop for the night or risk me falling off of Shadow Light because of fallinyeg asleep in the saddle, Damon was quick to realize that there must be some other form of transportation in my era than the horse. He all but forced me to drink his blood to heal myself of the saddle sores I was left with after hours of riding. And we had kept the horses at a rather sedate walk for the majority of the time we were riding!

I'm also discovered another similarity between Damon of this time and Damon of my era: neither one will _willingly_ let me have private time in the bath. The only reason Damon of my time allowed it was because there were locks on the bathroom doors and after the first time he peaked in on me while I was showering, I had started locking the doors every damn time. Now that we're mostly sleeping under the stars and bathing in creeks, there are _no_ locks for me to use to keep him from spying on me. Admittedly, in my time, if he really _wanted_ to, he could have just broken the locks on the bathroom door with his vampire strength. He was just humoring me. Now he's _insisting_ that we bathe at the same time, regardless of my wishes.

The first time I gave into his demands and stripped in front of him to bathe, I found out that while my face may look remarkably like Katherine's, there are a lot of minor differences in our bodies as well as one major one in the form of my birthmark. Neither brother had ever told me that in my time, though I know both of them have seen me naked plenty of times. Even Damon, who I was never with, had seen me naked because I am not fast enough to cover my body from vampire vision.

Thankfully, Damon's body isn't as much of a surprise for me as mine is for him simply because of my Damon's choice of how to greet me on my birthday before I made my wish. I wonder how everything I'm doing now is changing the future because I know damn well my being here in this time shouldn't be happening for the timeline I was from to occur the way it did.

As with the modes of transportation, I'm finding so much in this era is different from my own. Take for example the kind of food available. No instant meals in this era. Not even Poptarts are available yet. And the methods of cooking food are vastly different as well. Even after we stop for the night, it _still_ takes Damon more than two hours to fix us a human meal on the campfire. No electric lights anywhere on Earth. Those won't show up for another fourteen years when Thomas Edison invents the first light bulb. For now, all lighting after dark comes from fire, whether it's a campfire, a candle, or a lantern. This Damon was _shocked_ to discover I had no knowledge of how to properly start a fire. Sure, I know how to use matches but the ones he gave me I had no clue how to use to start a proper campfire.

We're both discovering just how different our eras really are with just how much I _don't_ know how to do in this era, that's for sure. It's only been a week since I had been transported into the past by my birthday wish. And in that time I've come to realize just how inadequately prepared for such a 'simpler' way of life I really am.

Finally, on my seventh night in this era, when we've nearly reached Nashville, Tennessee, Damon decides he wants to know more about my time. As he prepares the food he's going to cook tonight, he speaks up. "So, I couldn't help but notice that you have very little or even _no_ knowledge of how some of the most simple of things are done," he starts, startling me where I was resting on our saddlebags, watching him. I hadn't expected him to speak because after the first night, Damon hadn't done _any_ talking when preparing meals. I know he doesn't _need_ human food. I know that whatever he does when he leaves me alone at the edges of some homestead for an hour satisfies his craving for blood perfectly fine, though I don't even ask what he's doing. I know he's partaking in the meals because he _enjoys_ them.

"What about it?" I ask.

"Well, given that even young children in this era could do those tasks easily, I was wondering what your time is like," he says.

I make myself more comfortable on the saddlebags. "I'll answer your questions to the best of my ability, but there are some things I won't discuss," I warn him.

He nods as he stirs whatever is in the pot tonight. Every meal he makes me seems to be different from all other meals, though they're all equally delicious. The only thing he's offered me that I refused to even _touch_ was a snack of pickles. We had the same debate as we did in my timeline about them but, in the end, he ended up eating all of them.

He's quiet for a long moment, debating what he wants to ask first. "Well, what's been bothering me the most was that I've noticed that however comfortable you are with Shadow Light, you are _still_ brand new at riding a horse. Sure, you said you were, but I thought maybe that was because you rode in carriages in your time. But you don't know _anything_ about carriages," he says. "So I came to realize there must be some _other_ form of transportation in your time that's far more common. I want to know what that transportation is."

I smile. So like the Damon I know to ask about transportation _first._ "From what I know in my time, in another twenty-one years from the time we're at now, someone will invent what will eventually evolve into what people in my time call the automobile," I start.

"Automobile?" he asks, perplexed.

"It's a motorized form of transportation that will come to almost entirely replace the horse and carriage as main transportation. Only certain small sects of humanity will still use the horse and carriage in my time. In America, those people will come to be called the Amish. The very first automobiles look a lot like the carriages of now but will eventually evolve into many forms. They also move _much_ faster than any horse ever can. The one you will have in my time, which by then will be called a classic model, can travel the distance from Mystic Falls, Virginia, to Atlanta, Georgia, in a little over twelve hours."

He seems flabbergasted at this news. "Not even a train can do that," he exclaims.

"Trains are still around in my era but they are even faster than automobiles," I reply. "By my era, a _train_ could make that trip in about four to six hours, depending on the stops it has to make in between."

He shakes his head, awed. He's silent for a time, absorbing this news. But I know he won't let his shock stop him from pestering me with more questions. Finally, while we're eating whatever dish it is that he made, he gathers his wits and asks another question. "I also noticed that you have very little understanding on how to light a fire properly or even how to light a lantern," he says. "Is the lighting in your time just as awe-inspiring as the transportation?"

I shrug. "I guess you could say so," I say. "In about 14 years, an inventor will make an improvement on electric lights. There will be very few gas lights after something called the light bulb begins mass production, and then only in very old houses with outdated electrical systems. The light bulb will make much steadier and brighter light than fire possibly can. Within a few decades, every home will be built with this new kind of light. And after the light bulb is invented, other kinds of electric devices will be created. One of the most amazing devices won't have its first edition created until the 1930s, though. It will be called a computer and by my era, you will be able to find at _least_ one in nearly every household. Usually every member of a household in my era will have some form of computer. Just one of the many things you'll be able to do with computers in my day is send a form of mail that will arrive at the recipient almost instantly, no matter where in the world they are."

"Nearly instantaneous mail delivery worldwide?" he gasps. "Now I _know_ you have got to be pulling my leg."

I shake my head. "In the next hundred and forty-five years, the world as you know it will change drastically," I tell him. "So many new inventions and then so many improvements on those inventions that I can't keep track of it all." I pause and study him as he processes my words. "You and Stefan are the reason I even know the years the inventions I already listed were patented, or at least your future selves. They are such commonplace items by my day that few people even know when they were first created without having to research it."

He studies me. "Aren't you worried that you telling me these things will alter your time?" he asks finally.

I shrug. "Just my _being here,_ in this time and place, has already altered it," I tell him sadly. "Neither you nor Stefan ever met me in my timeline until just over a year before I was sent back in time. I don't know what my birthday wish being granted this way will do to the intervening years, but I feel that the longer I'm here, the more things will be different when I make it back to my own time."

We're silent after that, both lost in our own thoughts. As with the previous six nights, I curl up using the saddlebags as a pillow and Shadow Light's blanket as a cover to keep the nightly chill off while Damon stands guard. As a vampire, he doesn't _need_ to sleep if he doesn't want to. And for some reason, even this Damon, even before he gets to know me and falls in love with me, is determined not to let harm come to me. Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to want to get close to me except at bath time or when we're riding. He's situated himself across the clearing from me as I struggle to fall asleep, wishing for his comforting presence next to me but knowing I won't get it.

**Damon**

As Elena forces herself to fall asleep, I keep watch across the clearing from her. The horses are tethered not far from her in such a way that they can graze but can't get loose nor can they reach Elena. Everything inside of me cries out to go to her and hold her close as she sleeps. But I'm conflicted. My brain still wants Katherine while everything else in me seems to be giving itself over to Elena in almost no time at all, even my inner vampire. I'm not yet willing to give up on Katherine, which is why I'm across the clearing from Elena rather than curled next to her. I could stand guard equally well from either spot, but I'm not yet ready to give in to whatever is brewing between Elena and I. I already know she's an important person in my life in the future. But I'm not yet ready to accept just _how_ important she seems to be if I'm already like this after just a _week_ in her company.

* * *

Sarah: And that's it for this chapter. As I'm sure you've noticed, the chapters are steadily getting longer, though are still short. Don't worry, folks, Damon won't be able to fight Fate for too much longer. Soon enough, he'll give in. Some things are just too important to fight for long.


	4. Giving Up the Fight

Careful What You Wish For  
DG32173

Sarah: and here is Chapter 4 of _Careful What You Wish For._ As I said at the end of last chapter, Damon won't be able to fight what's happening for long. You'll see this chapter _just_ how long his brain can fight against both his heart _and_ his inner vampire. I hope you enjoy. Unlike previous chapters, this one _starts_ with Damon. I hope you enjoy.

_**REVIEW REPLIES**_

_Leann Nickerson:_ glad you enjoyed the chapter. I'm sure you'll like it as much as the others, maybe even more so because Damon will give up the fight with his heart and inner vampire in this one.

_amazing Aisha:_ you're Damon can't fight for long. He gives up this chapter. And yeah, I feel that no matter _what_ age Damon is, there are some things that will remain the same about him throughout his existence. This includes wanting to see Elena in the bath.

_Red Reaper88:_ glad you love it. Here's more.

* * *

Chapter 4  
Giving Up the Fight

It takes nearly another week at the pace we're traveling at for Elena and me to reach Atlanta. I figure this is as good a place as any to start searching for a witch who can help us with Elena's problem. If Emily had still been alive, I would have asked her advice that first day. But she had been killed by the townsfolk just a week after my transition was forced upon me. I held true to my bargain with her and protected her offspring, even finding a witch in a neighboring town who would take them in and raise them what she called 'the right way', whatever that means.

In the past week, I have found that it's all but impossible to fight both my heart _and_ my inner vampire, which _both_ want Elena to be mine with a desperation I have never encountered the likes of. With each day, the struggle within me grows weaker as my head starts getting the message that my heart and inner vampire had been trying to tell it. Last night I nearly gave in and went to her as she slept. The only reason I didn't was because of how exhausted she was. I had pushed both us and the horses yesterday and today because I wanted to close the gap between us and Atlanta. We finally make it to the city limits about two hours after lunch and I'm surprised at the damage _still_ on grand display after the Union had overrun Atlanta. Elena sways in her saddle, obviously not expecting the spectacle before us. I place a hand on her arm to keep her from falling.

Even nearly three months after the end of the Civil War, nearly seven months after the burning of Atlanta, the city is still in horrible disrepair. During our time traveling cross country, I had allowed Elena to wear the clothes she's most comfortable in, which are actually boys' clothes I had stolen for her off of various clothes line as well as the strange outfit she had appeared before me in. But as we got closer to civilization, I had insisted that she change into the kind of outfit women are supposed to wear in these days. She wasn't happy about it, nor the fact that I made her sit side-saddle as she rode Shadow Light, but she knows she can't go against the customs of this era as that would draw unwanted attention on us.

"How are we supposed to find a witch in this chaos?" Elena asks me in an undertone.

I press my lips together, unsure _how_ we're supposed to do that. I scan the wreckage before us, knowing my vampire eyes are far keener than Elena's human ones. Suddenly, I notice a few of the buildings that are still standing seem virtually unscathed, almost as if the fire didn't even _touch_ them though everything around them is in ruins. "By finding signs of magic in action," I reply just as softly, nudging Black Star towards the nearest building that was seemingly bypassed by the fire, which turns out to be an apothecary.

We tether our horses to the hitching posts out front and head inside. Neither Shadow Light nor Black Star will let anyone but the two of us touch them, so we don't worry about horse thieves. A tinkling of bells announces our presence.

"Unless it's a life and death emergency, we're closed," a voice calls from the back. "I've got too many patients as is."

I follow the voice and Elena follows me. I hold aside a curtain separating the front from the back for Elena and we find a witch using magic to heal an unconscious man's hand, which seemed to have had a nail accidentally hammered through it, if the nearby bloody and twisted nail is anything to go by.

"I said we're closed," the witch snaps without looking up from her healing.

"I think you'll be interested in what we have to say," I reply.

She looks up, her eyes slightly unfocused for a moment before she gasps and her vision clears. Visibly shaken by whatever her senses are telling her about us, she turns back to her patient. "I'll be with you in a moment," she says raggedly. "Wait in there," she adds, nodding towards yet another curtained doorway.

Elena and I obey the witch and find ourselves in what appears to be a repurposed parlor. We take seats next to each other on the sofa before the hearth. In only a matter of minutes, the witch comes in after I heard her lock the door to the building. "Why are a vampire and a girl not of this time coming to me?" she asks, taking a seat on a nearby overstuffed chair.

I exchange a look with Elena and nod at her. This is her tale to tell, I'm just along for the ride. She takes a steadying breath and explains how she had ended up in this era. "Do you have a way to send me back to my own time?" she asks in conclusion.

The witch says. "My name is Bailey," she introduces herself, brushing her dark hair out of her eyes. "I have lived for nearly sixty years and have _never_ heard of a magic like what sent you to us, Elena. In the normal course of things, the spirits would never permit such magic to be performed because, as you guessed, it can drastically alter history and not always for the good. Since the spirits had allowed this magic to occur, there must be something _they_ want you to do in this era. If that is the case, not even the strongest of witches can send you back until you've accomplished whatever mission you were sent back to accomplish."

Elena visibly wilts at Bailey's words. "How am I supposed to know _what_ this mission is?" she asks the witch. "All I did was make a wish on my birthday. I never expected it to come true like _this."_

"That, you will have to figure out for yourself, Elena," the witch says. "No witch will be permitted to interfere in your mission in any way, not even as an aide. Until you can figure out what you were sent to accomplish and succeed in doing so, you will not be allowed to go back to your time."

"Will the time that passes while I'm here also be passing in my time?" Elena asks. "Because I have friends who will be doing everything they can think of to get me back, no matter how dangerous it is. I can't let them get hurt because of something that's my fault."

Bailey shrugs. "I don not know the answer to that. You will find out that answer only when you are permitted to return to your time and not before," she replies.

After that, we are quick to realize we will get no more from this witch and say our farewells. Elena and I mount our horses and make our way out of Atlanta, both of us knowing we won't find any shelter here, what with all those still left homeless by the fire. Only when we've put several miles between us and the outer most limits of Atlanta do I find us a good clearing in the woods and pull Black Star to a stop. We manage to take care of the horses before the dam holding back Elena's emotions gives way.

As she starts being wracked by heart-wrenching sobs, I finally give up the internal battle I had been fighting the past two weeks and pull her into my arms. She collapses against me, crying her heart out against my shirt. I know instinctively that right now, she feels like she's lost her old life completely. Whether that's true or not, I don't know. All I know is that my inner vampire is going crazy at the emotional distress Elena is in. It wants to destroy whatever is causing her such pain but I know that's not possible, not until Elena can return to her time. We have got to figure out what this 'mission' she had been tasked with is and figure out how she's going to accomplish it.

I don't know how long we stand there like that, as Elena releases her grief for the life she feels she had lost. But it's nearly sunset when her tears finally dry up. I tuck a finger under her chin and tilt her head up so I can gently press my lips to hers in a silent vow to stick with her for as long as she's in this era.

But, as soon as my lips touch hers, intense heat bursts to life between us, telling me that it was a bad move to make since I didn't want to go any farther than a chaste kiss tonight. Elena wraps her arms around me neck and holds me to her with all her human strength, pressing as close to me as her dress and petticoats will allow for. I wrap my arms tighter around her waist and flick out my tongue to trace her lips. She instantly parts them, granting me access into her mouth. I delve my tongue in and soon have her tongue engaged in a fierce war for dominance.

Elena moans against my mouth, pressing so close to me that I can feel her delicious curves pressed against me through her clothes. I had gotten a good view of them every night for the past two week as we bathed, but this is the first time I've felt them pressed against me. The sensation sends my borrowed blood rushing to my groin and I'm filled with a need to have nothing between us, to make love to her deep into the night.

Lost in a haze of passion, I start pulling at the strings holding her bodice in place. It's been nearly eleven years since my first fumbling foray into making love to women. In that time, I have become something of an expert at getting women out of all the layers of clothes they cover themselves with. I still find myself wishing that Elena had been wearing either the boys' clothes I had stolen for her or, better yet, the outfit she had arrived in this era wearing. Both types of outfits would be _much_ easier to get off her than the layers I had made her put on as we drew near to Atlanta. Ah, well, lessons learned and all that.

Thankfully, it isn't long before I'm carefully laying Elena down on a pallet made of our discarded clothing, three fingers of my right hand already buried deep inside her to stretch her inner walls to more easily accommodate my girth. I can _smell_ that she's not a virgin but I have no idea who she was with or even how long it had been since she last had sex before she appeared before me. I _do_ know that she's been celibate at _least_ as long as she's been traveling with me.

When Elena's inner walls start clenching tightly down on my fingers, I withdraw my fingers to lick them clean before plunging my tongue into that sweet little place between her legs. That's all that's needed to cause her to fly into ecstasy, crying out _my_ name as her sweet nectar flows over my tongue and down my throat. Apparently, whoever she was with before hadn't treated her the way a woman _should_ be treated in this act.

It takes several minutes for the flow to stop. When it finally does, I trail my tongue around the edge to lap up the last of her nectar before trailing kisses up her beautiful body, pausing to leave a kiss on her birthmark before continuing upwards. Those two joined hearts with an arrow through them are so boldly outlined, it's hard to believe it's actually a birthmark. Finally, I reach the juncture where her throat meets her left shoulder. I gently scrape my blunt, human teeth against that juncture, asking without words if she'll permit me to feed on her since I haven't had a chance to feed today. Her only response is to tilt her head to give me better access, which pleases me to no end. I carefully line myself up with her entrance while morphing my face to that of the vampire within me. I wait as she forces herself to relax. Once she's sufficiently relaxed, I sink my fangs into her at the same time as easing myself into her core. She moans her pleasure at the sensation.

I wait for her body to relax once more as it gets used to my girth before even letting a drop of her blood to spill out of the bite. As soon as her body relaxes again, I hum my approval and begin to feed on her while carefully pulling out until just the tip of my head is within her before plunging back in. She moans her approval of this and buries her face in my neck.

After a few minutes, I'm startled to feel her blunt, human teeth scrape timidly against my throat, asking for the same permission I had asked from her. I pause in my feeding just long enough to further tilt my head so she has better access to my throat, granting her permission to drink my blood. She immediately sinks her teeth into my throat, causing my blood to pour into her mouth.

**Elena**

I am having a hard time believing that this is really happening, I'm really giving my body to Damon while we feed on each other. But it's real. I can feel a few blades of grass poking through our pallet of clothes to tickle my bare back. No dream or even daydream would include _that_ sensation. Before my wish had sent me back in time, I had been close to confessing my feelings for Damon out loud. Now I'm _expressing_ them to this Damon in the most physical way possible. I don't know all of what is going through his head, but I know that at this time, Damon has no idea about just how big a bitch Katherine really is. That he's choosing to do all this with me is both confusing and astonishing. Has only two weeks of being around me constantly already pulled his heart from Katherine's grasp? What is going on behind his beautiful blue eyes?

But I don't dare ask. Not now, at least. I don't want to ruin this moment with my questions about Katherine. I'd rather think that something within _this_ Damon is pushing him towards the emotions he will have for me in my time, despite not knowing about the betrayal Katherine will cause him when he opens the tomb.

It isn't long after I start feeding from Damon that we both fly over the edge of ecstasy, his dead seed spilling into me and filling me. Finally I know what being with Damon sexually is like, and _this_ Damon isn't nearly the sexual expert he is in my time, not having _nearly_ as many woman under his belt now as he will. But I shove those thoughts away. It's depressing to think of Damon with other women sexually. I slowly pull away from the bite I gave Damon and place a kiss over it, feeling it heal under my lips.

Damon morphs his face back to that of the man he once was, retracting his fangs from my flesh. Then he surprises me by lapping his tongue over and around the wound he left me with. That's when I remember that Damon in my time had once told me that vampire saliva can seal a wound on a human even better than stitches.

Damon repositions us so that he's underneath me, our naked bodies still molded together and his dick _still_ buried deep inside my core. "Hope you're not hungry cause I don't feel like moving right now," he murmurs in my ear. I shake my head. Definitely don't want to move from this position, not even for food. "Good," he breathes, nipping my ear with blunt, human teeth before settling back. I allow my body to practically melt against his until I lose track of where my skin ends and his begins. He holds me tightly yet tenderly in his arms as I close my eyes and quickly drift off to sleep, his mere presence beneath me a huge comfort. Maybe tomorrow I'll ask why he did this with me tonight. Then again, maybe I'll just take what I can get from him and let the dice fall where they may.

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Sarah: and that's it for Chapter 4. From Chapter 1 through this chapter were all written in _one_ afternoon. Crazy, right? Anyways, please review and tell me what you think.


	5. Growing Closer

Careful What You Wish For  
DG32173

Sarah: here's Chapter 5 of _Careful What You Wish For._ I hope everyone enjoys what I have in store. Yes, I _know_ things are going a little fast, but, well, that's what my muse wants for this story. And I can't fight my muse or she stops giving me ideas for the story for a long time. Anyways, on with the story. Starts with Elena.

_**REVIEW REPLIES**_

_Red Reaper88:_ glad you enjoyed last chapter and it was a bit unexpected. Hope you continue to enjoy.

_amazning Aisha:_ I guess I couldn't surprise everyone about how long it would take for sexy times between past Damon and Elena to occur. Glad you enjoyed it.

_Leann Nickerson:_ yeah, I love writing scenes of Damon and Elena together sexually. They're among my favorite scenes to write. Glad you enjoyed last chapter so much. Here's the next one.

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Chapter 5  
Growing Closer

It's been nearly a week since I saw with my own eyes the destruction that had been wrought on Atlanta during the Civil War. Given how it had been nearly razed to the ground, it's amazing that it had survived and grew to be one of the east coast's most traveled to destinations by world travelers in my time. In that time, Damon has kept us travelling from shortly after sunrise to just an hour before sunset. After we finish dinner and have had our nightly bath in some pool of water, he's taken to pulling me in his arms and showing me just how skillful a lover he is. I don't resist but I can't help wondering what's going through his mind to make him want to make love to me on a nightly basis. The first two weeks we traveled together, he barely let me get close enough to him for even the briefest of touches. Now it's like he can hardly keep his hands to himself once the sun goes down.

Just today I managed to talk Damon into helping me get some of the pads of this era. I'd prefer tampons but I know tampons as I know them won't be invented for _decades._ And I'm not about to try the alternatives that were around before their invention. Some of them just _sound_ painful. So it's making do with bulky pads that are fastened to a belt tied around my waist under my clothes when my next period starts, which should be soon.

Damon of my era had once warned me against ever being alone with a male vampire while I'm on my period. He didn't explain _why,_ but I took his words to heart. Now I don't have a choice. _This_ Damon sure won't let me out of his sight for very long.

I stare into the flames of our campfire while Damon cooks dinner tonight. It's some sort of stew again, which seems easiest for him to cook on a campfire. For lunch we have been eating sandwiches made of cheese and ham he had cooked then preserved earlier in the week, eating in the saddle as we ride to wherever it is Damon has decided to head to next.

For the first week I started traveling with Damon in this era, I had saddle sores every night by the time we stopped, which Damon forced me to drink his blood to heal from. But over the past two weeks, I've grown more adapted to being in a saddle all day. In fact, for the past week, I haven't had _any_ saddle sores when we finally stop for the night. Also, I've noticed for the past week we've been heading in a steady northwesterly direction. I wonder about it frequently but never ask. I know Damon's view on the people of the South around this era, particularly the whites. He despised most of them because they were so very racist, so very much against equality between the races. The supernatural aspect of the world _never_ shared the same prejudices against something that's only skin deep, he had confided in me during one of our long conversations in my time. Of course, he had told me there were other prejudices to be had, prejudices between the different species that walk this world and _look_ human. But those prejudices had some actual merit whereas hating someone just for what color their skin was or where they were from never made sense to him.

When Damon had allowed me to go with him to a market to buy food, forcing me once more into the heavy and cumbersome clothing woman wear in this era, I had been shocked at how many of my favorite treats had not yet been invented. I let Damon do all the talking and bargaining. But I was quick to realize I couldn't even teach this Damon how to make s'mores because the marshmallow as I know it hadn't yet been invented. There _was_ some chocolate candy, but nowhere near the variety that I'm used to. Damon saw me eyeing it wistfully and had quickly added a box to our purchase. I knew enough of the decorum of the era to wait to give him a 'thank you' kiss until we were alone. Of course, when I finally tried it, it wasn't nearly as sweet as I've come to expect of chocolate. In fact, it's what people in my time would classify as sixty percent dark. Thankfully, I like all forms of chocolate, from ninety percent dark all the way to white.

In the past week since this Damon and I have become nightly lovers, I have found out even _more_ about him than even the Damon of my time had let slip to me. Of course, in my time, I hadn't _yet_ allowed our relationship to get this close. I was getting there, but I hadn't even admitted out loud how much I loved him. And I had kept it out of my journals because I knew he was prone to reading them.

Another purchase I had Damon make today on his foray into a town we had passed was a couple of journals and the writing instruments of this time, which turned out to be a fountain pen and a couple of inkwells. I guess the fountain pen as I know it, the one where you put the ink inside, hadn't yet been invented. He also brought a small, thin slab of carved and stained wood for me to use the back of as a portable writing desk, though I could have done just as well just using my knees.

I had written in one of my new journals until it had become too dark for me to see without lighting a lantern and Damon doesn't let me light the one we have when we have a perfectly good campfire going. The campfire light is too chaotic for me to write well as of yet. I wonder if Damon of this era will be reading my journals the way the one in my era did. I had long given up trying to get him to stop in my era. I had even stopped getting mad at the cute notes he'd leave for me when he was done with my latest entries. They were so sweet, after all.

Just as my thoughts are about to go off on another tangent, Damon brings me a bowl of stew and a chunk of bread he had warmed by the fire. I nod my thanks and dig in. He takes a seat next to me and digs into his own portion. When we've eaten our fill, Damon takes our dirty dishes to the river in the clearing to wash out while I set about making a pallet for us tonight out of our dirty clothes before getting out the bar of soap and washcloths we need for our nightly bath.

Damon comes back and stores the bowls and spoons in his saddlebags before banking the campfire and setting some oatmeal to cook overnight for our breakfast in the pot he had just cleaned, putting a lid on it to keep creepy crawlies out. Then he takes my arm and leads me to the river, knowing my eyes would never be able to allow me to safely make it across the clearing in the dark in spite of the nearly full moon overhead.

Because of how cold the river water is, we don't take long at all to get clean before clambering out. Damon then pulls me into his arms, pressing a passionate kiss to my lips. I have grown much closer to this Damon in just the past week, almost as close as he and I are in my time. But I still don't know how he feels for me. Damon of my time let me know how he felt for me with thousands of nonverbal cues a day. This Damon is keeping his emotions hidden from me.

I let him lift my naked body in his arms to vamp us back to the pallet of clothes I had made for us. Once a week for the past three weeks, Damon and I wash our clothes before breaking camp and continuing our travels. Tomorrow's wash day, so we have plenty of clothing to cushion us as we make love.

But I'm finding it so very hard to resist giving voice to the three words that so desperately want to fall from my lips, especially at the height of lovemaking. I've actually made my tongue bleed a couple with the force I bite it to keep from professing my love to him. I'm not sure if this Damon is ready to hear it and until I know for sure it's something he will want to hear, I'm keeping the words strictly to myself. Damon of my time would _love_ to hear the words. But Damon of my time proves to me everyday how much he loves me. And Damon of my time loathes Katherine with a ferocity I rarely see him display. This Damon doesn't know that Katherine will end up betraying him in the end. He could very easily be caught on the razor's edge between wanting her and wanting me. I just don't know.

**Damon**

As I make love to Elena, I can sense her thoughts are on something else. What it is, I'm not sure. I can see by the tenderness in her eyes every time she looks at my, by every move she makes, that she's in love with me. But she hasn't said the words out loud. I think she's even bitten her tongue to the point of bleeding to keep from saying them. Why? Can't she see that already, in such a short amount of time, she's won me away from Katherine? Or am I somehow instinctively hiding the emotions she stirs to life within me? I have only said those words to one woman in my life and now I'm realizing that what I had felt for Katherine has _nothing_ on what I feel now for Elena.

I am dreading the day she figures out what mission she was given when she was magically transported to me. Because when she figures it out, she'll want to complete the mission she was tasked with so she can return to her time. And then I won't see her for more than a century, not until I find her again in _her_ time. Even then, she won't know me when I first find her because she had said we had known each other not even a _year_ before she made the wish that sent her back in time.

I hold her a little more tightly to me, trying to express without words how much I've grown to cherish her. We don't feed from each other _every_ night because I know as a human, she will be slow to replenish the blood I take from her on the times I _do_ feed from her. Today I had us stop by a remote farmstead and had her stay where I hid her on the edge of the property while I tracked down a lone human to feed from.

If I were an older vampire, I could probably subsist with just feeding from Elena for a couple of mouthfuls a day. I know neither Katherine nor Lexi actually needed to have more than a few mouthfuls of blood a day. But they're both much older than I am, having survived centuries as vampires. But as a newborn, I have to either feed more often or take in more blood at once. I'm glad Elena's not asking what happens to the humans I'm hunting. I don't know what it's like for my future self in her time, but right now I'm having to drain the humans I feed from pretty severely with just one feeding a day. On the nights I decide it's safe to feed from her, I can make do with just a few mouthfuls of blood from the human I hunt that day because I know I'll be having more blood after night falls while I make love to Elena.

I look to the future with fear. From the time she will complete her mission she was sent back on to when I meet her again I know will be a long, dark time in my existence. I can already tell that much. As much as I've already fallen for Elena, I can feel the bond between us _still_ growing stronger with every passing hour. If it's as strong as it is after only a few _weeks_ of knowing her, I'm both fearful and anxious to find out how strong it would be after a _year,_ as she said had nearly passed since she first met me in her time.

But given the description I had wrangled from her on what occurred during our first meeting in her time, I'm wondering if I had possibly met her before that and compelled her to forget. Well, given what I can conclude was going on between Elena and my brother in her time by what little I have wrangled from her, I won't make _that_ mistake twice. She's going to be _only_ mine in _both_ our times if I have anything to say about it.

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Sarah: and that's Chapter 5. As you can see, just by Elena traveling to the past and meeting him, Damon's already making plans to alter her timeline. I hope you have enjoyed what I have written. Also, I have an interesting idea for a plot twist in the next few chapters. Not saying anything more, but you'll recognize it when it occurs. Please review and tell me what you think.


	6. Changing Memories

Careful What You Wish For  
DG32173

Sarah: welcome to Chapter 6. I hope everyone who's reading this is enjoying what I write. This chapter has a big plot twist that will affect the rest of the story. Now, let's get on with the story. The Chapter starts with Elena.

_**REVIEW REPLIES**_

_HoneySexy:_ I'm glad. Here's another Chapter, this one with a big plot twist.

_Leann Nickerson:_ yeah, you'll see starting this chapter how the timeline will change. That's the only spoiler I'm giving. Enjoy.

_Red Reaper88:_ Glad you're enjoying it. Here's more.

_amazing Aisha:_ you're right on the money. But you'll see this chapter Elena has a bigger fear come to play that negates her fear of telling Damon everything. But you'll have to read to find out.

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Chapter 6  
Changing Memories

In the past week, since Damon somehow had managed to wrangle from me what I remember of our first meeting, I have found that my memories have been changing steadily. The ones I originally came with are still there, but faded compared to these 'new' memories I am finding myself getting. It only took a couple of days to realize that these 'new' memories are what will happen to me in the way history is rewriting itself thanks to my wish.

The very first memory to change was my memory of my first meeting with Damon. Rather than first meeting him in the boarding house living room, in my 'new' memories, Damon and I had met on the road as my parents came to pick me up from the party I went to the night they died and he had compelled me to tell no one about his presence in Mystic Falls at the time.

Now I can't help but wonder if a similar scene had occurred originally, just with Damon compelling me to _forget_ meeting him. I mean, even that first time I met him, I had felt as if I had known him from a time and place beyond recall. It would make sense, in a way, if my heart had been remembering our true first meeting that he had compelled my mind to forget.

Given how close Damon and I have grown here in this time, when he's still a newborn, I'm not surprised that he would end up altering that scene, if it had originally played out the way I think it did. What does surprise me is the other 'new' memories that are quickly being formed.

One is that Damon reintroduces himself to me on my seventeenth birthday, bringing a box of what was supposed to be eighteen cupcakes to me in the graveyard while I was visiting my parents' graves but one was missing because he wanted to test to see how good the cupcakes were as well as only share seventeen cupcakes with me for my seventeenth birthday.

After that memory formed, I decided to confide in this Damon that my memories are changing. I didn't go into specifics, not yet, but he seemed pleased when I mentioned that in my 'new' memories, I had definitely met him first and that I think the 'new' memory was actually a rewrite of one he had made me forget in the other timeline.

Over the course of the past week, more and more 'new' memories have appeared. I've also noticed with distress that my 'old' memories are fading more and more as each 'new' memory appears. I'm afraid that soon I won't remember that there had ever been a difference. Sure, I'm almost _relieved_ at the way things turned out in my 'new' memories, with me being Damon's girl from the beginning and him not even _wanting_ the tomb opened because he somehow already knew Katherine wasn't in there. But I fear that losing my 'old' memories will cause me to lose a piece of myself in the process.

I know Damon can tell I'm distracted and worried about something, though I refuse to confide in him what is bothering me. Today, I finally decide to try my hand at writing while riding, knowing by now that Shadow Light doesn't really need my direction because she will stay close to Black Star and Damon. I need to get my 'old' memories down before I completely forget them. My writing is a messier than usual but still legible. I proceed to write down everything that I fear I'll forget in my journal, barely stopping long enough for lunch.

Damon knows enough to not disturb me while I'm writing, though I frequently feel his gaze on me as I write. I don't know if _this_ Damon is so like his future self as to invade someone's privacy by reading their journal, though I wouldn't put it past him. But even though I know there's a chance of Damon reading my journal and discovering everything I have kept from him so far, I keep writing, getting down every detail I can remember before it is gone for good.

As I write, I realize just how much has already faded away completely. The major events are still there but a lot of 'little' things are already gone. Even what it _felt_ like to be drained to death by Klaus in the original timeline is already gone. I can remember that Klaus had successfully sacrificed me but no matter how hard I search my memory, I can't remember what it _felt_ like, knowing I was going to die so the plan we had put in place could have a chance, knowing I might come back a vampire if the others didn't come up with some other way.

And as I realize that even that is gone, I realize I had waited too long to start writing down my 'old' memories. Some have _already_ been lost beyond recall. Not even a vampire would be able to access them now. I pick up my writing pace, struggling to keep it at least somewhat legible. I need to get down everything that is left before it, too, is gone for good.

Finally, as Damon finds us a clearing with a creek in it to spend the night in, I write down my eighteenth birthday party and the wish I had made that had started all this. I get the last of my 'old' memories down, knowing that too soon, this journal will be all that will remind me there was ever another timeline.

I close my journal and store it in my saddlebags before I take care of Shadow Light's needs. As I brush out the beautiful mare's coat, I get another 'new' memory and lose a bit more of the 'old' memories. This one is what will happen on my eighteenth birthday. Somehow, I end up making the same damn wish as I did before with the same results. But _this_ time, the guest list includes only my closest friends, Damon (who will be my boyfriend of a year by then), and my brother.

I still haven't gotten a 'new' memory of what happens with the Originals, but given that neither Jenna nor Stefan is in attendance at my eighteenth birthday party, I get the feeling that some things _won't_ change between the two timelines. In this new 'memory', Caroline is still a vampire and Tyler is still a werewolf. So I know Katherine will be up to her tricks no matter how else the timeline changes.

I finish my part of the evening chores, feeling conflicted. Should I share everything that is left of my 'old' memories with Damon now? Or should I risk having him find out by reading my journal and suffer his wrath if he does?

It's only as we're curled up next to each other after our evening lovemaking that I make my decision. I need to tell _someone_ before it's all gone. And the only one I _can_ tell is Damon. I open my mouth and begin speaking. "Damon, there's something you should know," I start, not bothering to lift my head from where it's resting on his bare chest.

"Oh?" he asks.

"This past week, as I've been getting 'new' memories that are consequence of my coming to this time, I've realized my 'old' memories have been fading away with each 'new' memory that appears. That's why I spent the whole day writing while we rode," I tell him. "I was getting my 'old' memories down before I forgot them completely. Even then, I realized that some of them are already gone."

"So that's what's been distracting you this past week," he murmurs. "I was wondering."

"I feel that I need to share those 'old' memories with someone else before they're gone completely. And you're the only one I can think of in this era to share them with," I say softly.

"So you're finally going to tell me all your secrets, huh?" he asks softly.

"Most of them. The ones I still remember," I admit. Before he can remark on that, I start sharing with him my 'old' memories, starting at the beginning, the night my parents died and I survived.

I don't know how long I spend sharing my fading memories. I do know that the only reactions I get from Damon are completely non-verbal. He squeezes me tighter while sucking in a sharp breath when I get to my memory of the opening of the tomb. He almost crushes me against him when I get to my sacrifice a few weeks before I made my wish. He chuckles when I tell him about what he had done the morning of my eighteenth birthday. And those are just a few of the reactions he has that tell me without words how he feels about what I'm sharing. Finally, an untold amount of time after I start, I sigh after telling him my birthday wish that had sent me back in time.

"And that's it," I conclude. "That's all that I can remember now. With each 'new' memory I get, I lose more and more of the 'old' ones. I'm afraid that soon, the 'new' memories will entirely replace the 'old' and I will only know there was ever a difference by looking at what I wrote today. And I know there was more that I've already forgotten. I just _know_ there was but I've already lost those memories entirely."

He's silent for a long time, just holding me as he thinks over my words. Finally, he sighs. "I'll be thinking about what you told me for a long time to come but right now, you need sleep," he says softly. "You're human and humans have this ridiculous need for sleep every day."

I silently agree that a human's need of sleep is ridiculous. I sigh and relax even more so in his arms. Then Damon surprises me by starting to sing softly. The words are not in any language I recognize, but I can tell by the melody that it's a lullaby, meant to sooth the listener to sleep. Before long, I find myself lost in the world of dreams, soothed by Damon's gentle singing. Somehow, his singing follows me into sleep, shaping my dreams in strange and wondrous ways. In my dreams, I hear his voice whispering words of love and wish with all my heart he had actually said them to me. But even wrapped in such sweet dreams, I know I'm _just_ dreaming. This Damon is by no means ready to say such sweet words to me.

**Damon**

I continue to sing the Italian lullabies my mother sang to me before her death even after Elena has fallen asleep in my arms. Between songs, I take a moment to whisper in her hair, "I love you," before picking up the next song. She's now the second woman I have said those words to, but she's the _only_ woman to draw forth all the sensations within me that she does. Maybe someday soon I'll say them to her when she's awake. But not yet.

Even as I sing to Elena, I think on everything she had told me. I feel fury rise within me at how very little Katherine apparently cares about me, being willing to let me go so damn long without ever letting me know she was never in the tomb. I know Elena would not have told me her memories if she had not been losing them with every 'new' memory she gets. I wonder briefly what her 'new' memories are of, the ones that are slowly replacing her 'old' memories.

I just know that now that she's told me everything, I _refuse_ to let her ever be Stefan's for even an instant. I met her _first_ in both timelines, I'm sure of it, and I met her first in this era. Elena will always and forever be _just_ mine. I'll make _damn_ sure of it.

Unfortunately, we _still_ don't know if time is passing in her era while she's trapped here. And I know given how much I love her _now,_ my future self will be going _crazy_ trying to get her back if time is passing at the same speed there as here. I know that before she can be sent back, she'll have to accomplish whatever mission she was sent back to accomplish. Even that we still have no clue on.

I do know that, given what Elena told me, Lexi's insistence on Stefan feeding from animals will _never_ work long-term. He'll just fall off the wagon time and again over the coming decades, eventually becoming the weakest link in Elena's group of friends in her time. Something will have to be done about that before his weakness affects Elena.

Despite knowing that in doing so, I'm making more of Elena's 'old' memories be replaced by 'new' ones, I start coming up with various plans on how to prevent certain things she told me would happen in her time. Given I have nearly a hundred-and-forty-five _years_ before I have to put those plans in place, I know I can come up with plenty of ways to prevent the less desirable events of her time from happening. Now if those plans will actually _work_ is a whole other story.

But I can't bear to lose Elena to death, even the temporary death she had described happening to her. The only way I'd allow her to die is if she's transitioning into vampirism to be with me for eternity. That's the _only_ way.

Suddenly, something about Elena's natural scent alters. It takes me a moment to recognize it and then I relax. Apparently in the 'new' future, she _will_ be mine because now I can smell my own scent eternally mingled with hers. My future self had somehow marked her as _mine_ to protect her from other vampires. Between now and then, I'll have to find out more about this mark my future self will place on her. My guess is that Elena will have yet another 'new' memory when she wakes up, possibly more than one. The good news is that no matter what time period she's in, no one else can ever hurt her now. Not without what I can sense to be severe repercussions.

I hold her more tightly to me, being careful not to wake her. I continue to sing softly to her as she sleeps, secure in the knowledge that she will always be _mine._

* * *

Sarah: for those who have read _For Lack of a Better Name,_ you probably already know what had happened to alter Elena's scent as she slept in Damon's arms. Hope you enjoy. Also, I'm sure everyone is curious about when past Stefan and Lexi will show up. You might or might not get to see them. No spoilers at this point.


	7. More Changes

Careful What You Wish For  
DG32173

Sarah: welcome to Chapter 7 of _Careful What You Wish For._ Here are the review replies and then the chapter. Enjoy. The chapter starts with Elena, as usual.

_**REVIEW REPLIES**_

_amazing Aisha:_ yep, just by being transported into the past and past Damon falling for her caused Elena's life to change. I think it's changing for the better, but that's just me. Here's more.

Guest Meghan: glad you stuck with it and like what I have come up with. You'll find out this chapter just when the mark was placed. Enjoy.

_HoneySexy:_ oh, Elena's mission is a _bit_ more complex than just getting Damon to say "I love you" to her while she's awake. I won't go into any details however. And yeah, my muse wanted the mark included so I included the mark. Hope you enjoy this chapter just as much as the previous ones.

_Leann Nickerson:_ you'll find out this chapter what happens to Sheila Bennett in the altered timeline. That's all I will say. Here's the next chapter.

_Red Reaper88:_ yeah, this Damon is far more in touch with his humanity than the Damon of Elena's time, having only recently become a vampire. Here's more.

* * *

Chapter 7  
More Changes

It's been yet another week travelling with Damon in the past since I told him what was left of my 'old' memories. More and more of my 'old' memories have faded away, being replaced by 'new' memories. Too soon, I won't remember there was ever a difference. I keep trying to refresh myself with the journal entry I had written detailing what had originally happened before I made my wish, but it's getting harder and harder to believe it had ever happened that way.

At some point during that night after I shared my 'old' memories with Damon, I had acquired an unusual 'new' memory, a memory of the Damon in my time marking me during our lovemaking session after he was brought the cure for werewolf bites. The mark, he had told me afterwards, would prevent any other vampire from interfering with me in a way he would not approve of without severe consequences, though he didn't explain what those consequences were. He said he never again wanted to see something like that happen to me at the hands of another vampire, not without immediate retribution.

After the appearance of the memory of the mark, I noticed this Damon treating me with utmost tenderness and maybe even hints of love. But he hasn't yet said the words, not where I can hear them at least. But I think maybe, possibly, he says them at night after I fall asleep because every night for the past week, I keep dreaming of him saying words of love and devotion to me. Maybe my sleeping mind is pulling things happening in the real world into my dreams. If that's so, I pray he will tell me when I'm awake soon so I can return the words.

As fearful as I am of completely losing my 'old' memories, the 'new' memories replacing them make my heart sing with joy. In the 'old' memories I was fighting the unbreakable bond I shared with Damon because as far as I knew, I had met Stefan first. In the 'new' ones, there is no fighting because I'm _Damon's_ from the beginning. Another good memory that has replaced a bad is that the tomb was never opened. _Damon_ had talked Anna out of it, using Anna's growing feelings for Jeremy as the key to getting her to agree. Which means Grams _doesn't_ die in this new timeline and Bonnie _doesn't_ hold a grudge over Stefan and Damon for matters beyond their control for months afterwards.

I have yet to gain the memories of how Caroline becomes a vampire and Tyler a werewolf, though I know it happens. I also know that yet again, despite these changes, something happens on Founder's Day that causes the town to lose Mayor Lockwood, though I have yet to gain the memory of what that something is.

"Penny for your thoughts," Damon asks from where he's riding next to me, holding up an actual penny.

I chuckle. "Keep your money, I'll tell you without it," I tell him. "I was just thinking about all that has been happening the past two weeks in my head, as my memories rewrite themselves. It's getting harder and harder to believe there ever was a difference. Soon I'll find it impossible to believe when all my 'old' memories are gone."

He nods. "Even if you forget entirely they were ever there, _I_ won't forget what you told me about them," he assures me.

"Which is why I told you, because I knew you'd remember for me after the memories are gone," I reply, barely shifting in my seat as Damon has the horses go into the woods because he spies signs someone on the road too far ahead for human eyes to make out. Today I'm wearing the clothes I came to this era in and it wouldn't do for someone of this era to come across me wearing clothes that haven't been invented yet.

Over the past several weeks, I have grown comfortable being in the saddle for most of the day, though I refuse to ride side-saddle unless Damon's forced me into the clothes of the ladies in this era for some reason. Wouldn't want to ruin the pretty dress he had stolen for me. Damon had told me just the other day that he'll make me a natural horsewoman yet.

He reaches out and clasps my left hand with his right briefly. "I'll take care of you, Elena. Always," he vows. That's the closest he's come to wearing his emotions on his sleeve so far since I came to the past.

Sadly, even with horses as well trained as Shadow Light and Black Star, we still need both hands on the rein to guide them through the woods. Too soon, Damon releases my hand so we can have full control over our mounts. Riding them on game trails through the woods is far more dangerous that even the 'wild' trails Damon had taken me on in my time as he taught me to ride.

That's one memory that barely changes between 'old' and 'new'. After recovering from his brush with death because of Tyler's bite, Damon will still insist on teaching me to ride in the weeks between my sacrifice and my eighteenth birthday, just what happens during those rides changes between timelines.

I am grateful that I still know that there ever was a difference. But soon, I won't be able to compare 'old' and 'new'. Soon, I won't believe what I had written just a week ago at all. At the rate my memory alteration is picking up its pace, it will only maybe a week longer before I completely forget there was a difference, before I stop believing the 'old' memories I had written down.

Suddenly, Damon pulls Black Star to a halt, causing Shadow Light to halt a step behind and to the right. "Look," he whispers, pointing ahead of us.

I follow where his finger is pointing and gasp in awe at the large herd of deer visible in the clearing about twenty yards ahead of us on this game trail. There's a buck with a huge rack of antlers that would be any hunter's dream trophy and he's got at least fifteen does with him as well as numerous fawns.

I smile my gratitude at Damon as the deer get our scent and bolt. Over the past week, he's taken the time to show me countless natural wonders I would otherwise have overlooked. This is yet another sign of our growing ever-closer. Damon smirks at me before gently kicking his heels against Black Star's side, getting the stallion walking again along the game trail. Shadow Light automatically falls into step slightly behind and to the right of the other horse.

I love it when Damon proves just what a caring man he can be. It proves that no matter how much he embraces his inner vampire over the years to come, at his core, he has the heart of a kind young man. That's one thing that _won't_ change, I'm sure.

But I still worry about what is going on in my own time whenever I think about it. I fear that time in the future is passing at the same speed it is passing here. If so, Damon of the future will be doing everything he can think of to get me back, no matter _how_ dangerous it is. And I worry about that, about what he could be doing to try and bring me back.

* * *

Sarah: alright, that's the chapter. Hope you enjoyed. Yes, I know Damon's thoughts didn't make an appearance this chapter. It is gonna be that way some chapters, written entirely from one perspective or the other. Review and let me know what you think.


	8. What Did I Forget?

Careful What You Wish For  
DG32173

Sarah: here's Chapter 8. I'm so glad everyone seems to love what I'm creating here. Here's the next chapter. The chapter starts with Elena.

_**REVIEW REPLIES**_

_Red Reaper88:_ yes they are. Here's more.

_Leann Nickerson:_ yeah, i always thought that after Caroline and Tyler made the transition into supernatural beings, they were far more likeable characters. And yeah, Katherine still sets up the scenario for the sacrifice.

_amazing Aisha:_ you'll find out why she makes her birthday wish again soon enough so I won't give any spoilers. Here's more.

Guest Meghan: maybe, maybe not. Depends on if my muse cooperates. Hope you enjoy this chapter as much as you enjoyed the others.

* * *

Chapter 8  
What Did I Forget?

As I wake up on the dawn of the first day of my third month in the past, I feel like I had forgotten something important, something I had been dreading forgetting for a while. But try as I might, I can't recall what that something that I forgot was. I can hear Damon moving around the camp, making breakfast and watering the horses. It's wash day again. I open my eyes and sit up to stretch. Damon looks up from the oatmeal he's reheating. "Good morning," he greets.

"Morning," I say sleepily. I decide to confide in him this strange sensation. "Damon, I feel like I've forgotten something important," I say.

"Oh?" he asks.

"Yeah, it feels like whatever I've forgotten, I was dreading forgetting it for a while. But try as I might, I can't remember what it was that I've forgotten," I reply. "You didn't compel me, did you?"

He chuckles. "Nope, no compulsion," he replies, splitting the oatmeal between two bowls and bringing one over to me as well as a spoon.

I dig in as I try to wrack my brain for any hint of what I've forgotten. But not even a hint of what I might have forgotten comes to mind. "Maybe I should check my journal," I muse. "If I had actually been dreading forgetting it, then I know I would have wanted a reminder somewhere."

"It's wash day," Damon reminds me. "You can check your journal while the clothes are drying, if you want to. But I'm down to my last outfit and you only have one outfit left besides the dress and petticoats. The clothes need to be cleaned before we can do anything else. They take forever to dry."

I chuckle and finish my oatmeal. It had taken a couple of tries that first wash day for us to figure out how to properly wash clothes in a river. And it took only one experience of not letting them dry all the way for Damon to decide that we can wait for the clothes to dry completely before continuing our travels.

After I finish eating, I get dressed in the last change of boy's clothes Damon had stolen for me. Even the clothes I had come here in, which I'm _most_ comfortable in, need washing. Then I get the harsh laundry soap. laundry line, and clothes pins from Damon's saddlebags while he gathers up the clothes from the ground and carries them to the river. I meet him there, he hangs up the laundry line between two trees nearby, and we get to work cleaning the clothes, him washing and me rinsing a little bit upstream. Since the rinsing goes faster, I also hang the clothes on the line.

Finally, all the clothes are on hanging on the line and I dig out my journal, determined to see if I had written down the cause of this feeling of forgetting something important. Given that I write nearly every day I get a chance, I decide to start from the first entry and work my way forward.

I don't know how much time passes as I read because my watch had finally died a few days ago. It needs new batteries and I sure won't be getting them in _this_ era. All I know is that by the time I come across an unusually long journal entry that is sloppier than my normal writing and was written a couple weeks ago, the sun is nearing its zenith, shining almost directly down on the clearing we're in.

I proceed to read and find myself alternatively filled with confusion and disbelief. According to this journal entry, there had been another timeline that I had forgotten ever existed, a timeline where I had been _Stefan's_ girl from nearly the first day of junior year, fighting my heart's desire for Damon. But that's impossible! I have always and _will_ always be true to what my heart wants and it has wanted Damon since the moment I met him the night my parents died!

I shake my head in disbelief as I close the journal after finishing the entry. What had made me write all that? Sure, some of the things I had written as 'old' memories lines up very closely to what had really happened, but most of it is completely different! As if I would ever betray my own heart! As if I would ever betray _Damon_ like that!

"Find anything?' this Damon asks.

"Just an entry that doesn't make any sense," I reply. "Some of what I had apparently written a couple weeks ago matches a little of what really happened in my life. But most of it is completely different from my memories."

Damon shrugs noncommittally, averting his eyes. I realize he's hiding something from me. I've come to recognize this Damon's tells as well as I can recognize the tells of Damon in my time. "C'mon, clothes are dry. After we pack them away, we can have lunch and then hit the road," he says.

I chuckle. I had used that phrase a few weeks ago and he had immediately latched onto it, including it in his own vocabulary. "Okay," I say, putting my journal back in its pocket in my saddlebags before helping Damon pack away our things.

That journal entry tugs at something deep inside of me but I refuse to believe it's real. There's just no way I'd _ever_ be Stefan's girl. Not when Damon is right there, waiting for me with open arms. Besides, Damon marked me as his and when he told me the details of what that mark entails, I was overjoyed. No way would I give up the future he painted for me, an eternity at his side, for anything. Besides, all my friends love Damon in my time. They're always saying how well-matched we are. The only one not overjoyed for me is Stefan and I don't care.

* * *

Sarah: and there we go. Elena's finally lost all memory of what had originally happened and won't be swayed that there was ever a difference, not even by her own handwriting. Review and tell me what you think. I know it was short, but it was only portraying that one topic.


	9. Bonding

Careful What You Wish For  
DG32173

Sarah: Here's Chapter 9. I am so glad so many people seem to enjoy what I am writing. I've had reviews that reveal some of you are curious as to why she would make the same wish in both vastly different timelines. You'll get your answer this chapter as past Damon puts in the effort to get to know Elena better. The chapter starts with past Damon's viewpoint.

_**WILL ELENA EVER GO HOME?**_  
I know everyone is curious about if Elena will ever go back to her own time. This is the only spoiler I will give in this entire fanfic. _Yes,_ Elena will eventually head back to her time. But it will only happen after she accomplishes what she was sent to the past to do. The only thing I'm saying is that it will take a while before Elena manages to succeed in her unknown mission. That unknown mission will be altering her 'new' timeline just a touch. And that's all the spoilers you're getting. You'll have to find out what happens when it happens.

_**REVIEW REPLIES**_

_shnicky87:_ yeah, Elena's 'new' memories finally replaced all the 'old' ones completely. You asked if she will ever go back to her own time. I answered that in the above section. Here's the next chapter.

_Leann Nickerson:_ I doubt Damon will ever reveal to Elena that there had ever been a different timeline. He wants her all to himself, after all. Here's more.

_amazing Aisha:_ if my muse cooperates, there's a very good chance of seeing some of Elena's 'new' memories. But that's only if my muse cooperates. Here's the update.

Caza: thanks for leaving a name to call you by. Glad you enjoyed what I have written so far. Here's more.

_Candy Momo:_ here's the update.

_Srabanti Karmakar:_ interesting name for someone reading an English fanfic. Anyways, here's more at last.

* * *

Chapter 9  
Bonding

I glance at Elena as we're riding. Just a week ago she had finally forgotten all about the original timeline she had been sent back from and refuses to believe her own writing in the journal I had gotten her. I've decided to keep what she had confided in me before she lost the 'old' memories to myself. In this new timeline, she had been mine from the beginning and that's the way I want to keep it.

"So, you never told me what made you make the wish that sent you back in time," I say cajolingly, deciding I want to get to know her _much_ better than I do now. I can now play her body like a virtuoso plays his chosen instrument, but I scarcely know anything about what makes her tick.

She starts, pulled from whatever thoughts she had been having. I take great care to never read her mind, though she's not protected by vervain. She smiles at me. "That's simple, really," she replies. "I knew what you and Stefan were like in my time. But I knew that over the decades, you both had to change tremendously as Fate dealt you each a hand to play. So I wanted to know what you, in particular, were like when you were just a newborn, hardly changed from who you were as a human. I've found I like you now as much as I like who you will become because in my time, your core character is still the same as it is now: a good, caring man who would put himself to a lot of trouble for those who manage to win his loyalty."

We ride in silence for a couple miles as I think over her words. I hadn't realized I had shown so much of myself to her that she could see into my heart. I realize that we are growing close far faster than I had anticipated. Finally, I decide to ask another question that has been bothering me the past week since her memories have finished changing. "How did we meet in your time?" I ask.

She raises an eyebrow at me. "Why do you want to know?" she asks.

I shrug. "Call me curious," I reply. She chuckles at that. "What's so funny?"

"I was just remembering the first time I said that to _you_ in my time. You instantly nicknamed me 'kitten' and nothing I did could cause you to drop the nickname," she replies, a small smile on her lips.

I smirk. It sounds like something I'd do. "Are you going to answer the question or not?" I ask.

"Well, our first meeting in my time was May 26th, 2009," she starts. "I had been leaving a party because my first boyfriend started spouting all this nonsense about _his_ idea of what our futures would be, never once asking if I wanted it. I waited until he was done, all the way down to what would be on our tombstones, before ripping into him about how _dare_ he think he can plan out _my_ life without asking for my input. I told him, sure, I was dating him _then,_ but only because I was the town good girl who did what the whole world expected of her, _not_ because it was what _I_ wanted.

"I viciously broke up with him then and there in front of all the teenagers at the party and stormed away. I contacted my parents to come pick me up. I had originally promised to stay home that night for Family Night because my aunt was in town but I had gotten the invite to the party and wanted to go there instead. So I broke a promise. Then I contacted one of my best friends and told her that she and my mom were both right about Matt, my first boyfriend.

"As I ended the contact with her, I had reached the road passing the spot in the woods outside of Mystic Falls where the party was held. That's when you showed up in my life. You said all these eloquent things that almost instantly had me smitten. Then, just as my parents were rounding a bend in the road, you compelled me to keep our meeting to myself because you couldn't have anyone knowing you were back yet. Then you used your vamp speed and disappeared while the compulsion was taking root. That was the night my parents died and I survived. You then came back into my life on my seventeenth birthday, surprising me at my parents' graves with a box of cupcakes. That's when I started falling for real. By the time I met Stefan on the first day of the next school year, I had already been your girlfriend for over a month. I was _not_ happy with how he kept trying to separate us."

I nod to myself. As expected, I will never be her first _boyfriend,_ but she never really cared about him that way anyways, so it doesn't matter. So long as I'll be her one and only _love,_ that's all that matters. "How did you find out that Stefan and I are vampires?" I ask.

She's silent for a while and I glance at her in time to see her nod to herself, though she's frowning. "You weren't yet ready to reveal the truth to me, but Stefan ruined your plans when he caught us making out in the living room of the house you will eventually build in the clearing we met in when I came to the past. You were leaving me with a love mark on my neck and Stefan mistakenly thought you were feeding on me. He jerked you off of me, throwing you clear across the room after revealing his vamp face. I'll admit, how I found out was shocking. Thankfully, you managed to calm Stefan down and made him realize _he_ was the one who let the secret out, not you. He was _not_ happy about that. I had already guessed you weren't very human-like by some massive clues you had already revealed to me, but I never would have guessed vampires are real."

I roll my eyes. Trust Stefan to spoil my plans even a hundred-and-forty-five years in the future. He's done it all my life. According to how Elena discovered he and I are vampires, he'll keep on doing it well into the future.

"Any other questions?" Elena asks when I'm silent for a while.

"Trying to decide which ones to ask and which ones to find out for myself when they come to pass," I reply.

"Okay, take your time," she says simply.

We ride for a few more miles before I decide on my next question. "So, who was your first lover?" I ask wickedly.

She laughs. "I should have known that you'd choose to ask that question," she says in response to my raised eyebrow. "You'll be ridiculously pleased to know that it was you, just one week after my seventeenth birthday."

I smirk. She's right, it _does_ make me ridiculously happy to know that I got her virginity. "So, while I'm trying to decide on my next question, do you have any questions for me?" I ask.

She looks startled briefly by the question but is quick with her question. "You told me once in my time that you had made the decision to leave the tomb under the ruins of Old Fell's Church sealed forever shortly after you turned. But you never told me what made you make that decision. I'd like to know what caused you to make that decision," she asks.

I'm quick to hide my grimace from her. "I discovered Katherine isn't down there but is willing to let me think she is indefinitely," I reply. "I'm not willing to let the other vampires free to wreak vengeance on the world for being deprived of blood and freedom. My turn. How long was it before we got together after I came back into your life?"

"You won me over on my birthday simply by bringing me those cupcakes," she replies with a smile. "It took you only a few days to win over my aunt and brother. But I still resisted giving in physically until a week had passed. I had to be sure of my own heart before I finally gave in."

We spend the rest of the day going back and forth with questions we have for each other, further deepening the bond between us. After our baths in a river after we stop, I make the most exquisite love to her long into the night, until she passes out on me from exhaustion. I kiss her temple and hold her close, cherishing this precious gift I have been given. "I love you, Elena," I whisper softly so as not to wake her. "Soon, I'll tell you when you're awake."

* * *

Sarah: and there's the short Chapter 9. I couldn't think of much more to add to it and it's been sitting here too long incomplete so I decided to end it with that last paragraph and move on to the next chapter. Review and tell me what you think.


	10. The Present

Careful What You Wish For  
DG32173

Sarah: Here's Chapter 10. I hope everyone continues to enjoy what I write here as much as y'all seem to have enjoyed the story so far. Also, there have been many requests for a chapter like this one and I finally have the inspiration to write such a chapter. I hope it lives up to the expectations you guys have for it. That's all I'm saying until after the chapter. Now, it's time for review replies then the chapter. Enjoy. The chapter is all from Damon's perspective, but _not_ past Damon's!

_**REVIEW REPLIES**_

_amazing Aisha:_ I figured they needed to get closer in the past for Damon to become hopelessly devoted to her then and what better way then answering questions they ask each other? Here's the next chapter.

_The Viking Trubie:_ I'll give a great big hint as to her mission in this chapter though I'm not confirming nor denying anything until it happens. Give me your best guess. If you're even close, you might get a shout-out in the chapter of the mission completion. Here's the next chapter.

_Srabanti Karmakar:_ I plan on finishing all my TVD fanfics as I have inspiration for them. Glad you enjoyed the chapter. Here's more.

_4evrMrsAcklesLevineO'Donoghue:_ as I've said before, that's quite a username and I'm never sure I've gotten it entirely correct. Glad you enjoyed the story so far. Here's the update.

* * *

Chapter 10  
The Present

It's been nearly five months since Elena disappeared in a flash of light and wind while blowing out her birthday cake candles. Though I know where she had disappeared to and that she's safe in my own care back when I was a newborn, I am still frantic to have her back. I know how long it will be before she completes her mission in a most unexpected fashion, but I _seriously_ don't want to wait that long before I see her again in the here and now.

I spent nearly a century and a half barely able to hold true to my promise to her before she left the past. Even though the time she spent in the past is just a drop in the bucket compared to that, I feel myself fighting to continue to hold true to my promise to her. I had confided in the others precisely where and, more importantly, _when_ Elena had vanished to after she had made her wish. I knew I couldn't prevent her travelling back in time, not without getting us trapped in some sort of time loop where we'd be trapped going between the two timelines she had experienced, one of which she will never believe had happened. But I damn sure am not going to just sit and wait for her to come back on her own.

The gang and I have been going through Sheila's collection of Grimiores, trying to find a way to pull Elena back to this era before the full length of time she had spent in the past passes in the here and now. But there is _nothing,_ not even in the oldest and most obscure Grimiore Sheila owns. Sheila had warned us we wouldn't be able to interfere but she had allowed us access to her Grimiores when we insisted on trying.

I pull out a small wrapped package I had been planning on giving Elena on her birthday. I had forgotten that it was her _eighteenth_ birthday party that she had made that wish on, or I would have given it to her that morning when she woke up in my arms. Mother's Jewelry would be so useful for her, especially the enchantments on it.

I frequently curse Fate for setting us on this path. I miss her fiercely with a near constant ache in my heart. The same ache I had learned to tolerate between the first time she left me and the time I met her again. Not having to deal with it the year between her seventeenth and eighteenth birthdays had been a blessing. In the joy of being with her, I had all but forgotten that I would lose her again for a while.

In spite of knowing she'll come back for good eventually, I want her back in my arms _now._ I have never had much patience, and it's even harder to be patient when my soulmate is not at my side to keep me calm. "Elena, I miss you," I whisper, taking a swallow of my vampire-style Bourbon Bloody Mary.

I know that by now, my past self is so completely wrapped around her little finger I would never let anything happen to her without severe consequences for the one responsible. That mark I had put on her after I had recovered from Tyler's werewolf bite will make sure that no matter what era she is in, she is _safe_ from being messed with by other supernaturals, especially if I'm around.

I know she has her mission, though I have _never_ figured out precisely what that mission was. After she had gotten me to make that promise to her in the past, she had disappeared the same way she had disappeared from this era after making her birthday wish. After she had disappeared back then, I was sorely tempted to break that promise then and there but I have never broken a promise I've made in my life and, even now, I'm not about to start breaking promises, especially not ones I make to _her._ When Stefan broke his promise to me and got Katherine captured and had subsequently forced me to complete transition, I had sworn to myself I would never again allow myself to even _consider_ breaking a promise to anyone. I have very rarely made promises since then because I intend to keep them or die trying.

But this is hell, being without her again and knowing she won't be back for a while longer. I take another swallow of my drink, returning the gift to my pocket. I'm not about to get completely drunk because I might make a mistake while drunk and break my promise to Elena. She doesn't know about it yet, but she will not be happy if she comes back and finds I've broken my promise to her. So, I'll have to live with the pain of living without her until she returns. I know the time I still have to wait is not that long compared to how long I was without her the first time, but it's still unbearable being without the girl I had chosen to be my mate.

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Sarah: and there's a peek into how present Damon is dealing with Elena's absence. The chapter probably answered some questions you guys have but raised even more. Next chapter, we will be back in the past again. Review and tell me what you think.


	11. My Heart

Careful What You Wish For  
DG32173

Sarah: here's Chapter 11 of the fanfic. We're back in the past this chapter and probably will be until Elena returns to her time. I hope everyone continues to enjoy what I write. Here are the review replies and then the chapter. The chapter starts with Damon.

_**NOTICE: BACKUP BETA REQUESTED**_  
This story is already complete and has been for a while. I'm just waiting for my current beta to have time in her busy schedule to read over and correct the rest of the chapters. If anyone is willing to help me out by being a backup beta for when she gets busy and is willing for her to go over the chapters behind them as an added insurance, I will most appreciate it if you let me know in either a review or a PM. If you are willing to work with both of us like this, then let me know if you want me to start figuring out DocX on the site, if you're willing to do Google Docs as my current beta does, or if you happen to have Microsoft Word on your computer and can look over my chapters that way in the review or pm that lets me know you are willing to lend a hand to us to speed things up when I have inspiration. Thanks for any and all volunteers.

_**SHOULD I DO A COMPANION FIC OR TWO?**_  
I'm seriously considering that once I've completed this fanfic, I just might start a companion fic based entirely in the 'present' that is based _entirely_ in the new timeline Elena's wish has created, starting with the night Elena's parents died and going on to when she makes her birthday wish in the new timeline. Basically, it will be an alternate timeline 'prequel' to this fanfic. Should I do it? I have a few ideas bouncing around right now but I don't know if that's something you readers actually want to see or if I should just make it for myself. I'm also considering coming up with inspiration for a sequel to this fanfic of what happens in the new timeline after Elena is whisked home upon completing her mission. Is _that_ something you guys might like to see as well? Review or even PM me and let me know if you think I should work on these companion fic ideas and share them when I finish this story.

_**REVIEW REPLIES**_

_HoneySexy:_ you'll have to wait and see if you're right or not. Glad you enjoyed the chapter. Here's more.

_Leann Nickerson:_ glad you enjoyed both of the previous chapters. Yeah, Damon should've remembered her birthday wish was on her _eighteenth_ birthday. But, well, even vampires are fallible creatures. Here's Chapter 11.

_amazing Aisha:_ yeah, it _is_ a bit ironic that present Damon loses the love of his existence to his past self for a time just when things were settling down for them. You'll have to find out how they get reunited in present time when it happens as I'm not one for spoilers. Glad you enjoyed last chapter. Here's the next one.

_Rachaelm1981:_ I'm glad you enjoyed this story so far. Here's the next chapter.

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Chapter 11  
My Heart

It's been nearly a year since Elena wished herself into this era. We've been staying in Los Angeles for the past two months. Elena tells me that though the town isn't that large now, having only been founded sixteen years ago, it will grow to be a sprawling metropolis by her time. I found out that on this day in 1992, Elena will be born. So I decided to surprise her with a small cake to celebrate the occasion.

Seeing as Elena rarely leaves this house we're renting without me, I had to get pretty damn creative in coming up with some errands for her to run alone to give me the time to prepare the cake without her finding out about it.

I place the candles on the cake as I hear the front door open. I finished _just_ in time. "Damon, it took _forever_ to find a good bottle of bourbon. I _swear_ I've been literally all over town looking for it, but I finally found a good one. Everything else you wanted me to get was pretty easy to find," Elena says, not even bothering to raise her voice because she knows I'll hear her no matter where I am in relation to her in this house. It's rather on the small side compared to the plantation manor I grew up in.

I light the nineteen candles on the cake as I hear Elena shrugging out of her foul weather gear. Unfortunately, I can't control the weather and it's been raining and foggy all day. "Well, you're back. Come on in here to the kitchen," I call to her.

"It's not even close to dinnertime and you packed me a lunch to take with me," she says, her confusion evident in her voice as her footsteps head this way. "What are you up to?"

"You'll see when you get in here," I call back.

She appears in the doorway and gasps at seeing the small cake I had baked and decorated myself. I'll admit, it's nothing like what I could have bought at the bakery in town, but I think it'll mean more to her to know I care about her enough to go through the effort of baking, my _least_ favorite of cooking skills. The wonder and joy in her eyes is all the reward I needed.

"I had completely forgotten my own birthday and yet you remembered," she whispers, tears of happiness in her eyes. "You actually made me a cake."

"Happy birthday, Elena," I say, allowing a true smile to grace my lips for once. Even when it's just the two of us, I rarely permit myself to show an actual smile rather than a smirk. "Try not to make any more life-altering wishes while blowing out the candles," I tease.

**Elena**

I approach the cake. Sure, it's slightly lopsided and some areas have a _lot_ more icing than others, but it's by far the most beautiful cake I have ever received because it came from Damon's heart. Written in sloppy dark blue frosting on the light blue background is _Happy Birthday, My Heart._ That message alone _more_ than makes up for the appearance of the cake.

Damon is _not_ the sentimental sort and that he had come up with such a sentimental message on the birthday cake he had obviously spent the whole time I was out making tells me how much even this past Damon has come to love me.

I take a moment to carefully consider my wish. Finally, I decide to keep it simple. 'I wish to always be with Damon, no matter what era I am in,' I think before blowing out the candles.

Damon chuckles. "Not going to tell me your wish?" he asks as he picks up a nearby knife and slices off two generous pieces before putting them on the waiting plates.

"It might not come true if I share it," I retort, taking the plate and fork he offers me. I take a bite and moan my delight. The appearance of the cake may be a little sloppy, but the taste is that of a perfectly made German chocolate cake. Damon always claims that he is _not_ a fan of baking but if he could make the cake _look_ as good as it tastes, he could damn sure open a world-class bakery.

Over the year I have spent in the past, I have grown somewhat used to doing everything by firelight when the sun goes down. But I doubt I will ever get _fully_ used to not having all the conveniences of my time.

The cake is relatively small. I'm guessing that Damon didn't want too much leftover as there is no decent way to store it for future consumption in this era. There's only enough left for us to each have another piece either later after dinner or tomorrow. It's a shame, because it's so damn good.

One thing I have noticed over the past year is that this Damon has steadily been decreasing how much blood he drinks, both at once and over the course of a day. If I wasn't around him constantly, I wouldn't have realized it at all, given that it's a rather small amount that he's decreased. He's still nowhere near the point where he will be in my time, where he can survive on just a few mouthfuls of blood a day.

Damon gives me a kiss as soon as we both finish our cake slices, and the taste of him mixed with the taste of the cake is even more intoxicating than just the taste of him. I return the kiss. Being with this Damon for the past several months helps ease the ache of missing _my_ Damon. But it's just not similar enough to completely erase the ache.

For one thing, he's not _quite_ as creative in the bedroom as he will be in my time, though he's still creative enough to satisfy me. For another, enough has changed in his personality and thought process between our times that I get thrown off-balance from time-to-time by something this Damon does that _my_ Damon would do differently in the same situation.

I know I have won his heart completely now, with the biggest evidence of that being what he wrote on the birthday cake he made me. I fear that when we finally _do_ figure out the mission I was sent back on and return to my time, the pain of losing me for so long will cause him to turn off his humanity at some point. I need to think of a way to prevent him from becoming a monster between our eras. That will require some careful consideration and lots of thought. I'm not sure if how he behaved when we first got together in my time was because his humanity was off or because he had been too impatient for us to have the same closeness we have now and are destined to have no matter the era we're in. But I can't lose him to the monster a vampire without humanity can become, not for any reason.

Damon breaks the kiss with a chuckle to rest his forehead on mine. "I lost you at the end there. What deep thoughts were you caught up in?" he asks me.

"I'm sorry," I murmur, deciding that until I can figure out a way to keep him from flipping the switch after I complete my unknown mission and head back to my time, I won't reveal even a hint of these thoughts to him. "They aren't important right now. A thought I'll have to think more on later caught me off-guard."

He rolls his eyes. "Fine, keep your secrets for now. Just pay attention to me when I'm kissing you," he tells me before capturing my lips again in a kiss that promises much more to come.

I shove every thought to the back burner for now and let Damon have his way with me once more.

* * *

Sarah: And there is Chapter 11. I know it's short but I didn't have much to say. You guys got a pretty big hint on what's to come between the last chapter and this one. Did anyone figure it out? Leave your guesses in a review. Or just review to tell me what you think of my story so far. I've got one person who's already guessed at Elena's mission in a review of the last chapter. I'm not saying if they're right or wrong until everything comes to pass. Thanks for reading my story so far. On to the next Chapter. Also, a word of warning, after this, chapter's are going to be more spread apart in the universe's timeline as we're actually getting close to the end of this story. Also, review or PM me and tell me what you think of the ideas I mentioned in the pre-chapter note. Now, enough of this too-long closing note. Next chapter will be here as soon as possible.


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